The oxcart didn't stay long, and Song Anxin didn't want to walk back under the scorching sun, so she quickly took her two sons into the county town and headed straight for the county government office.
Good heavens! A temporary office had been set up next to the county government office, and a long line of people was so orderly that it almost stretched to the side of the street. In the line, Song Anxin even saw Old Man Zhang, who had come to the government office with her to ask for money last time.
Song Anxin knew that this must be a queue to receive pensions, so she joined the queue with her two sons.
Fortunately, the yamen was quite efficient. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it was Song Anxin's turn. Song Anxin quickly signed her name and went to another yamen runner to collect her money.
The constable in charge of signing and verifying glanced at Song Anxin with surprise when she signed. Most of the people who came were rough country folk, and very few of them knew how to write their own names. He had to confirm their signatures and then put his fingerprint on theirs.
The woman's clothes suggested she was an ordinary rural peasant woman, yet she could write her own name. Although her handwriting wasn't particularly beautiful, it was quite rare for a woman in the village to be able to write.
Song Anxin didn't have time to pay attention to the constable's gaze. She stared intently at the gleaming silver coins placed beside her. She was so poor right now. If this silver hadn't been distributed, her family would probably be starving soon.
Song Anxin was very excited to receive ten taels of silver. It was the first time that Lin Fengnian and Fenghe had ever seen so much silver. However, when they thought about how their father had risked his life for it, their eyes dimmed slightly.
Song Anxin didn't think too much about it; she had no feelings for the original owner's deceased husband. Once she got the money, the first thing she did was, of course, to go on a shopping spree.
Song Anxin took her two sons straight to the grain store, as food rations were always the most important thing.
The grain store was quite crowded today, probably because everyone had received their paychecks and came to buy more food for their families. However, after observing for a while, Song Anxin noticed that most people were buying buckwheat, dark flour, and other coarse grains, and very few were buying white rice. At most, they would buy some old rice.
The shop assistants were busy serving customers. When one of them saw Song Anxin and her group come in, he quickly said, "Auntie, what would you like to order? We guarantee that we'll weigh out the right amount for you."
Why does that voice sound so familiar? Especially that heartbreaking "auntie" line.
Song Anxin looked up and saw that it was the same young shop assistant who had served them when they bought grain and flour last time. The young shop assistant recognized her as well and said happily, "Auntie, it's you! Have you finished what you bought last time?"
When Song Anxin saw that the young shop assistant recognized her, she thought he had a pretty good memory. It was simply because she was dressed so shabbily, yet she had so generously bought rice and flour, and quite a lot at that, that the young assistant couldn't help but remember her.
"Yes, we've almost finished eating. There are a lot of people in the family," Song Anxin nodded.
"What else would you like this time, Auntie? I'll weigh it for you," the young waiter said eagerly.
Seeing that the grain prices were relatively stable, the same as when she last came, Song Anxin said, "Then weigh me sixty catties of rice, thirty catties of millet, forty catties of wheat flour, and five catties of buckwheat..."
Song Anxin rattled off the list in one breath, thinking that this amount of grain should be enough for the family to eat for more than two months. By then, the grain in the fields should have been harvested, and they wouldn't need to buy so much.
The young shop assistant was surprised that this auntie had bought even more grain than last time—over a hundred catties! He was overjoyed, thinking that the shopkeeper would definitely promote him to a permanent position this month. He said, "I'll weigh it for you right away, please wait a moment, auntie."
When the women in the grain store heard that Song Anxin had bought so much white rice and flour, they immediately began to whisper among themselves.
"This woman really doesn't know how to manage a household. What kind of farming family eats white rice and white flour?"
"That's right, what a spendthrift woman. If she were my daughter-in-law, I would divorce her."
"......."
Song Anxin, who was standing nearby, could hear these words, but she couldn't be bothered to argue with them. However, she was also glad that she hadn't had a mother-in-law since she transmigrated, otherwise she would have to argue with her mother-in-law about these trivial matters every day. Now, she was the mother-in-law herself, and she was the most powerful person in the family.
However, she still cares about her two sons' feelings. After all, they are family, and there should be no estrangement between them.
So he asked, "Do you also think it's wrong for Mom to buy things this way?"
Lin Fengnian replied, "Dad was the best to Mom when he was alive. He would definitely want Mom to have this money so she can live a good life. As long as Mom is happy with it, that's all that matters."
The eldest son has always listened to her the most and never had any opinions. The only time he had any ideas was when he proposed to Zhang Mei. Song Anxin was not surprised that Lin Fengnian said this.
Lin Fenghe had been looking at the grain shop with great curiosity. When he heard his mother ask, he replied earnestly, "Mother, if you like white rice, then buy it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it."
Song Anxin knew that her sons were all filial and devoted to her, which warmed her heart. She then asked, "Aren't you afraid that your mother will run out of money after spending it all?"
Lin Fenghe said, "Mother, won't our family sell mushrooms and oily duck eggs in the future? You learned about those from books, so they must be correct. Our family will be rich in the future."
Lin Fengnian also thought so.
Song Anxin “…”
How can I tell her that not everything in the book is correct for her third son?
While Song Anxin was lost in thought, the waiter had already weighed all the grain and showed it to Song Anxin. The final bill came to 1,075 wen, or 1 tael and 75 wen. Since Song Anxin wanted more, he rounded down the change by 5 wen and gave her 1 tael and 70 wen in the end.
When they came out, not only did the young man see them off warmly, but even the shopkeeper came out to see off Song Anxin, this important customer. The shopkeeper's surname was Liu. He was a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a kind face. He said, "Sister-in-law, young men, take care. Come again next time."
After thanking her, Song Anxin looked at the more than 100 kilograms of rice and flour with some worry. Although the three of them could each carry a little, she still had many things to buy. She couldn't possibly carry all this grain around, and she would also need to carry the other things she bought.
So Song Anxin told her two sons to carry the grain to Uncle Lin's oxcart at the city gate, since they would have to take it back to Linjia Village later anyway.
Watching the two men carry the grain away into the distance, Song Anxin couldn't help but sigh, no wonder people in ancient times had so many children; love was a form of labor.
If she were alone, she really wouldn't know what to do.
Song Anxin turned and went straight into the fabric shop. The shopkeeper happened to be seeing someone out and saw Song Anxin come in. He recognized her and said, "Isn't this the sister-in-law who bought clothes from my shop to make clothes for her younger siblings? What brings you here to buy ready-made clothes today?"
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